Uncovering Soviet military advisers: Why did they travel all over Asia, Europe and Africa?

The 20th century is a century full of armed conflicts. As the "big brother" of the Oriental Group, Moscow intends to send professionals to intervene in regional disputes. Therefore, from the Whampoa Military Academy outside Wuyang City, to the Iberian Peninsula, and then to the depths of the tropical rain forest in Southeast Asia, people often inadvertently find a group of special people who act mysteriously but speak with considerable weight. No matter what their achievements are, the name of "Soviet military adviser" once made them proud.

Recently, Russia's Independent Military Review magazine interviewed some veterans who had worked overseas, so that they could open the door of memory and lead readers back to that strange foreign land.

In China: Northern Expedition with Huangpu classmates.

Just after the civil war in the Soviet Union, a request for sending military advisers came from the Far East. /kloc-one day in the summer of 0/923, Alexei Ivanovich Cherebanov, a student of the Oriental Department of the Military Academy of the Soviet General Staff, was suddenly informed and was appointed as a military adviser to China. Cherebanov replied without hesitation: "I understand, I will go!" -He knows that it is meaningless to ask questions, because it is too late for the newly established Soviet regime to issue a guide to the actions of military advisers, and the personnel department is not clear about the tasks and responsibilities of military advisers. As for their special discipline during their stay abroad, they must also be formulated according to feedback.

The situation in China at that time was very complicated. Under the influence of the October Revolution, revolutionary forces also developed in this big eastern country, and a large number of warlords stood on the side of maintaining the old order. Surprisingly, after Cherebanov came to Huangpu Military Academy, he found that the president of the military academy was Chiang Kai-shek, the Kuomintang, and the director of the political department was Zhou Enlai, the producer of * * *. So the new Soviet consultant can only carefully seek a balance between the two. From the Northern Expedition in 1926, Cherebanov went to the front with the First Army of the National Revolution. In the first exchange of fire, his students' company defeated the warlord troops by a numerical advantage.

More than ten years later, Cherebanov returned to China as the general military adviser of the Soviet Union. When the two countries cooperated for the second time, he met old acquaintances Chiang Kai-shek and Zhou Enlai again. Jiang attaches great importance to listening to the opinions of foreign military advisers, but the Soviets still find it too difficult to work in China, because "things in the East have always been very sensitive." After the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, Cherebanov commanded an army in the Soviet Union. 1in the autumn of 944, he was appointed as the vice chairman of the Bulgarian Control Committee of the Allies. Considering Mr. Che's working experience in China, this appointment is not surprising to him.

Spain: Fighting the "Miscellaneous Army"

In order to avoid political troubles, Soviet military advisers sometimes appear as "volunteers". 1936, Franco, Spain staged a coup, and the struggle between pacifists and fascist forces in this country entered * * *. While countries such as Britain and France announced the "non-interference" policy, Franco's camp received generous assistance from Germany and Italy. In this way, Soviet advisers are very important to * * * and Pai, because the latter lacks regular troops and many elite officers have gone to enemy camps.

Before being ordered to leave for the Iberian Peninsula, kirill Afanasi Meretskov, a "volunteer army" of the Soviet Union, had a long talk with his superior, Marshal Bruckel, commander of the Far East Special Forces. The latter served as a consultant in China. He warned Mei: Be prepared for any chaos, because many Spanish and government troops belong to a rabble, and the commanders lack professionalism. The old marshal regrets to point out that when Meretskov and his colleague Nikolai voronov (promoted to artillery marshal in the future) came to the front, it happened that such a "less known and inferior brand" army was about to attack.

Seeing that the time had come to attack, the Spanish commander disappeared. Did he escape? Meretskov and voronov decided to take the lead. They jumped out of the trench, straightened up and rushed forward, and bullets from Franco's troops whizzed past their ears. But looking back, there were no soldiers chasing behind, so we had to turn back halfway. No matter how they persuaded, no one wanted to leave the trench, and the action could only end in failure. Meretskov admits that no matter how powerful he is, he can't do anything when he meets such subordinates, because "there is no military course on how to deal with this situation".

Similar things are common in some newly independent third world countries. The first task of Soviet military advisers in the local area is often to spend a lot of energy to persuade state leaders to strictly observe military discipline and strengthen command. But as time goes on, they gradually turn a blind eye to the loose traditions formed by these countries over the years.

In Vietnam: Work details are state secrets.

Former Soviet general Porfiri Macsimovici Ivashko worked in Angolan, Libyan and Kuwaiti countries, and nowhere impressed him more than Indian Zina. One day in 1960s, Ivashko was participating in a military exercise and was suddenly asked to fly back to Moscow. At the General Staff, waiting for him is a letter of appointment: you have become an adviser to the commander of a military region of the Vietnamese People's Army. Ivashko asked when to start and replied "in two days".

During his study in the Military Academy, Ivashko was familiar with several Vietnamese students in his class. I'll believe that when I see it. Even so, he was surprised by the Vietnamese organization. At that time, every village in South Vietnam had a responsible person appointed by the authorities, but there were also "underground" responsible persons who took orders from North Vietnam. The underground party in the village is divided into countless three-person groups, and each soldier only knows his direct leader. After the alarm sounds, the team can gather and March in a short time.

The transporters are the real heroes behind the scenes. Carrying hundreds of kilograms of supplies, they walked for hours along the jungle path that only they knew. In order to ensure that the companions behind him don't get lost at night, everyone should tie a shiny piece of rotten wood on his back as a mark. Political work is also carefully arranged. For example, whenever the propaganda team comes to the village, some soldiers are responsible for teaching young people military skills, some are responsible for teaching villagers to read, and some help in the farmland.

When the reporter of Independent Military Review interviewed Ivashko at home, the general took out a huge map and unfolded it on the table. The above marks clearly reflect the combat situation of the Vietnamese People's Army. The plot is very accurate, and at first glance it is from the hands of experienced staff. When the reporter asked if this was the general's own achievement, Ivashko smiled, rolled up the photos and put them away, noncommittally, like a professional diplomat. It seems that after so many years, the details of Ivashko's own work in Vietnam are still state secrets, "which can't be shown to outsiders". Relatives and friends only vaguely know that he has endured various hardships such as air strikes, shelling, living in caves and jungles, and has made outstanding achievements in foreign aid work and won a precious red flag medal.

In Africa: protecting people's livelihood is more important than fighting.

What is even less well known is that Soviet military advisers often help friendly countries solve difficult economic and social problems. For the Soviet General Staff, many tasks are more urgent than fighting. According to Ivashko's memory, one year, there was a severe drought in Ethiopia, and the residents of an entire province were facing death. The Egyptian government sought emergency assistance from the Kremlin. Moscow was invited to send military hospitals to transport equipment, food and professionals by sea and air. Because of his working experience in Africa, the forward command of this operation fell to Ivashko, who personally assigned a car battalion and a helicopter squadron.

Military tents have become simple hospitals. As soon as the equipment was installed, the first victims were sent in, most of whom were children. Ivashko said that the tragic situation of these children made him extremely sad. "They were tortured by hunger for a long time, and their thin bodies were almost transparent ..." In the following weeks, the Soviets were almost exhausted. Pilots, technicians, drivers ... all worked overtime, saving tens of thousands of lives, and none of the patients who were admitted directly to the simple hospital died.

A few years later, Ivashko was called to his familiar office again-this time, "The people of Sao Tome and Principe need help". The country is located on two islands formed by volcanic eruptions 200 kilometers west of equatorial Africa, with a population of only 65,438+10,000. Because the size of the army is insignificant, ocean-going fishing boats from many countries in Europe, Asia and even America unscrupulously rob the fishery resources that the people of that country depend on for survival, and weak local governments can only ask Moscow for it.

At that time, the Soviet Union did not have enough strength to defend Sao Tome and Principe, and there were too many political obstacles to protect fishing with ships. Fortunately, the Soviet Union had sufficient technical reserves, and soon put forward an alternative plan: to build a radio radar navigation station on the island in order to find and identify suspicious targets, and to warn unknown ships of the penalties they would face if they violated Sao Tome and Principe waters. As for the specific construction and personnel training, it is natural to let the military advisers go out again. Shortly after the completion of the navigation station, Ivashko got a good news that the illegal invasion of this water area by foreign fishing boats was greatly reduced.

This seemingly trivial but far-reaching task once spread from the South China Sea of China to the Gulf of Guinea during the Cold War. During that period of confrontation between the East and the West, Soviet military advisers were important executors of Moscow's global strategy and made sacrifices that were not commensurate with honor. However, with the disintegration of the country, their efforts in those years went up in smoke overnight; Even the name "Military Adviser Abroad" with distinctive characteristics of the times has gradually lost its mysterious image in the public mind.